DeKalb County dispatcher Crystal Morrow fielded an emergency call about her father her first day on the job. / 911.gov

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Everyone's first day on the job is challenging, but 911 operator Crystal Morrow had a bit more stress to handle than most new hires - she had to save her father's life.

Morrow, a dispatcher for DeKalb County, Ga., was just four hours into her first shift in August when she answered a call from a familiar voice - her aunt's. A man was in diabetic shock, she said, not knowing she was speaking with her niece about her father.

Morrow calmly instructed her aunt what she should do to help her father as she dispatched an ambulance. She stayed on the line until paramedics arrived to revive her father.

"I did freeze, my hands froze over the keyboard, but I knew I had to get the call in," Morrow told WAGA-TV in Atlanta.

"She handled it well," said Danielle Harvey, who trained Morrow and has been nominated for an award. "She got up after it was over and went out. So I checked on her and told her to go see about her family."